


Under Grey Skies

by sphilia



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! GX
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-15
Updated: 2012-11-18
Packaged: 2017-11-18 17:43:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,049
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/563696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sphilia/pseuds/sphilia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Post-canon. When Juudai needs the help of a psychic, Ed isn't about to let Saiou go on his own. While Saiou attempts to repay his debts, Ed contemplates the logistics of cross-dimensional adoption. Established Ed x Saiou, implied Juudai x Yubel.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

It was a simple enough task, but now that he was here, Kaiser was beginning to regret the whole thing. Asuka's threats of sending Fubuki at him really weren't all that frightening - Fubuki would pester him for as long as he lived, whether his sister willed it or not.

Still, the "love note" she had presented had been expertly forged. It even sounded like him, as long as the reader was willing to pretend to live in a world where Kaiser wrote love notes - which was, in all honesty, a perfect description of Fubuki. Maybe it was simply admiration of her ruthless wile in attempting to blackmail _him_ that made him agree.

But was it worth this? It hadn't been difficult, tracking down Ed - his manor was no secret, and the woman who answered the door was perfectly willing to tell a looming, black-clad stranger where he could find Ed and her "brother" - but the scene before him was one Kaiser was loath to be a part of.

Ed and his purple-haired "friend" holding hands on a park bench, admiring the view of the sea - surely a sight saccharine enough to make even a strong man want to puke. Kaiser might trust Ed with his life, but watching him be a lover was intolerable.

Long before he was close enough that his presence _should_ have been noticable to the happy couple, Purple-hair turned his head and met Kaiser's eyes, expression troubled. Kaiser raised an eyebrow and looked back. Ed had told him that his friend had lost all powers, but it seemed that wasn't strictly true. Good. A bit of immorality and lying suited him. The man bent down to whisper something to Ed, then left the bench to stand by a decorative railing, looking out at the sea. Kaiser idly wondered if he kept his hair long to use as an uninviting wall against approachers - it certainly seemed to be the intended message right now.

Ed, in turn, rested a less than pleasant gaze on Kaiser, no more inviting, but making it clear who he was supposed to approach.

"What are you doing here," he said, the moment Kaiser is close enough - a demand, not a question. Kaiser smirked darkly.

"Don't worry. I'm not looking for _you_."

Ed looked neither reassured nor surprised. "He doesn't want to talk to you."

Kaiser took a seat on the bench and wondered if he could get a medal for dealing with Ed's obstinate and pointless protectiveness. Then again, his lover seemed as willing to play damsel in distress as Ed was to play hero. A perfectly disgusting fairytale couple. "That intimidating to talk to someone who isn't half his size, is it?"

"Do you think insults will convince us to do whatever it is you want?" Ed's tone was dry and unimpressed. Not in a mood for games, it seemed.

Kaiser shrugged. "I'm just the messenger. It doesn't matter to me what you do with the message."

"Get on with it, then," Ed sighed, obviously still displeased with having his little date intruded upon. "You take too long to get to the point, Ryo."

Kaiser ignored the complaint. "I'm told it's from Juudai. It seems he's in need of your... friend's unique capabilities."

"Absolutely not", Ed bit off, stone-faced. "Saiou doesn't need to be dragged into any funny stuff. You can go tell Juudai to shove it."

"I'll pass it on," Kaiser said, shrugging.

"Ed..." Speak of the devil. Like a ghost, Saiou had appeared next to them and was looking pleadingly down at Ed. "Can we talk?"

There was a furrow in Ed's brow as they retreated to the railing for a "private discussion". Wonderful. A lover's quarrel, and Kaiser was the sole captive audience. The least they could do would be to scream and fight properly - as it was, Kaiser had to roll his eyes and look away from the shameful scene of Ed tenderly taking his lover's hands and gently pleading with him.

Even Ed's frustrated cry of "Saiou!" when he turned to approach Kaiser was too soft, too loving, to mean anything.

Nothing voided meaning like love, Kaiser thought idly.

Saiou stood before him, spine straight and hands calmly folded in front of him, while Ed sulked in the background. "Thank you for the message. We would both like to help."

Kaiser raised an eyebrow in Ed's direction, but he studiously avoided meeting his gaze. Fine by him. He smirked thinly and produced an envelope from a pocket.

"You're meant to call this number. They'll arrange your transportation." With that, he stood up. "You can go back to your little picnic now."

Really, in the end, bringing Ed to an undignified sputter was enough of a reward on its own.


	2. Chapter 2

It was an impressive bit of machinery, Ed had to admit. He had trouble associating it in any way with the cobbled together piece of junk that brought Duel Academy back from Sand World years ago, and to be honest he was glad for it.

"This portal has already been set up with the coordinates we were given," the doctor who had guided them through the research complex said. She was regarding the machine with fond familiarity, so Ed supposed she knew what she was doing. He was trying very hard to not notice the blurry shape fluttering around her, or the way she would glance at it, as if listening. He had nothing against Duel spirits, but it always made him uncomfortable when he'd catch a vague outline in the corner of his eye. Personally, he had seen enough living Duel Monsters in Dark World to set him for life. And besides, he didn't need to _see_ them to feel the life in his cards.  
"If you'll enter the chamber, we can get started."

Ed peeked into the "chamber". It seemed more like a small box to him. "Does it need to be so cramped?"

"This is as far as we've been able to expand the sphere of influence. The chamber was built to make sure no one accidentally pokes a limb outside it," the doctor said with a slight smile. "Believe me, Mr. Phoenix, you don't want to leave an arm behind."

Ed shuddered and wondered if it was too late to convince Saiou to give up on this ridiculous excursion. Surely Juudai could find another psychic somewhere - there was no reason it had to be _him_. But no. He knew very well that Saiou had made up his mind. That damnable _redemption_.

As Ed reluctantly entered the chamber, Saiou paused before the doctor. "Ah, Dr. Suzuki?"

Ed tuned them out, but when Saiou bent down to step into the chamber, he caught a glimpse of the doctor holding a cellphone in her hand and regarding it uncertainly. After a moment, she sighed and turned to the control station, tucking the phone in her pocket.

"What did you do to her?" Ed whispered to Saiou, giving him an only slightly suspicious look.

Saiou looked a tad embarrassed, but pleased with himself. "She just needed a little encouragement to do something important."

"Like what?"

"I don't know," Saiou said with a small shrug.

Ed shook his head. "Just be careful that you don't encourage the wrong thing."

From her station, Dr. Suzuki coughed politely. She couldn't possibly have heard them, but Ed felt reprimanded anyway. He crossed his arms and glared at the wall of the portal chamber while Saiou settled close to him, head still bent for the too-low ceiling.

"Are you ready?" she asked.

Ed glanced at Saiou and nods. "We're ready."

"Your location bracers are in order? You simply trigger the Home command when you're done, and we'll have you back in short order. It should take no more than half an hour."

As if he could forget. He had no desire to get trapped in some strange dimension again, so he had already double- and triple-checked both his own and Saiou's heavy bracers and studied the functionality until he could use it in his sleep. "We have them."

Dr. Suzuki nodded and pressed a final button. "Well then. Good luck."

The door to the chamber slid shut with a dull thud.

* * *

Saiou felt like he was looking through a monochrome filter. From the sky, to the ground, to the huddled, playhouse-sized buildings around them, everything looked washed in grey. For a moment, he feared even Ed had fallen victim to whatever grand paintbrush had soaked this landscape in shades of white and black, but then he turned his head and met Saiou's eyes. Saiou smiled in relief. If possible, Ed's eyes seemed even bluer in the gloom of the grey light.

"This is a dump," Ed said, frowning critically at the vine-covered little houses.

"Sorry, we haven't gotten around to cleaning up!" 

Saiou pretended not to notice Ed's fraction of a start before turning to look behind them.

"Juudai."

Juudai waved at them from a crumbled ruin, a stark splash of color against the grey dirt and the grey bricks.

Time to get to work, it seemed.

* * *

"...And that's when we found this."

'This' was a pitch black, egg-shaped object, large enough to almost, but not quite, touch the patch of intact ceiling resting over it. Most of the ruin was mercifully withered - Ed doubted even he could have stood up-right in one of the intact buildings.

"Why were you digging around in a ghost town in the first place?" he asked sourly, more for an outlet for his lingering irritation than out of genuine curiosity.

"That's the thing," Juudai said slowly. "It wasn't a ghost town the last time we were here."

"Time moves strangely between dimensions," a dark voice interjected from overhead. Ed had been doing fairly well ignoring her until now, but now he reluctantly looked up at Yubel floating overhead. Her too-bright eyes met his for a second before settling on Juudai. Of course. "Several decades must have gone by here since we passed through."

"Yeah..." Juudai said, scratching his cheek. "But to us, it was only a few months ago."

"Excuse me for interrupting," Saiou said quietly, "but is this egg breathing?"

The silence fell heavily as they all strained to hear whatever Saiou had picked up on. Ed shook his head. This is a waste of time, he wanted to say. That thing is no more than a broken old relic. Instead, he said nothing. Saiou was so eager to be useful, he had come all this way to another dimension to examine this... thing for Juudai. Ed knew very well how dangerous this kind of place could be, no matter how abandoned it appeared, but still - he couldn't bring himself to trample on Saiou's feelings by mocking this ridiculous project.

All he could do was protect him.

A dark shadow cloaked them as Yubel hovered down, eyeing Saiou with an unreadable expression. Ed didn't like it.

"I hear it," she said. "It wasn't there before. What did you do?"

"Me?" Saiou looked startled. "I didn't touch it."

"Maybe Ed woke it up with his grumpiness."

"Juudai!"

Yubel waved the argument aside and pointed at Saiou. "Whatever you did, do it again."

Saiou seemed uncomfortable with the attention, but he obediently examined the egg, circling it as best he could. Having exhausted what few clues merely looking at it could yield, he hesitated, then pressed a finger to the surface of the egg.

With a yelp, Saiou fell back, and Ed would have crushed the egg in fury if he hadn't had his hands full leaping to support him. "Saiou!"

"I'm fine, Ed," he said, but Ed thought he sounded suspiciously shaken for being 'fine'. "She wasn't trying to harm me."

"She?" Juudai looked at the black egg. "What's the difference between a girl egg-thingamagog and a boy one?"

Saiou looked bewildered for a moment. But then, he didn't really have that much experience interacting with Juudai. "No, Juudai, it's... The shell is merely a container for the being inside."

"Oh. Right. So... can you wake her up?"

Ed bristled. He couldn't stay quiet anymore. "Why!? This thing has already hurt Saiou once, and you want to _wake it up_? It wasn't even breathing when we got here, so why did you even need us to come!?"

He was momentarily grateful that no one pointed out that _he_ wasn't actually invited, but the way they were staring at him wasn't that much more comforting.

Juudai laughed apologetically. "Sorry, Ed, I guess you can't see them..."

"See _what_?" He knew he sounded sulky by now, but he didn't care.

"Tendrils," Saiou said, looking up above the egg. "There are great, black tendrils sprouting from the shell." He raised his eyes to Yubel's. "They seem to be feeding on something."

She nodded. "This whole dimension is slowly being absorbed by this object. And when it's gone..."

Ed was quiet for a long moment. "But it can't cross into other dimensions, can it?"

"I don't know." Yubel's eyes on him were still unnerving, but he was annoyed enough by now to glare right back. "Even if it can't, the loss of one of the 12 dimensions will create a dangerous destabilization. It would be wiser to deal with the situation on this level than to wait for the remaining dimensions to collapse." A thin smirk flitted across her face, as if taunting him - perhaps a dare to bring up the reason for her expertise regarding destroying dimensions. He refrained.

Saiou was regarding the egg with an intense, scrutinizing expression that made Ed sigh internally.

He was never going to be able to get Saiou to leave with him now.


	3. Chapter 3

Ed was already tired of the grey.

Like a fine dust, he felt like he was gradually becoming covered in it, until he thought he might actually become a statue, as grey and lifeless as the landscape. He was, quite frankly, beginning to regret volunteering to keep watch. Then again, he was equally useless watching Saiou play with the egg, so the least he could do was keep out of the way. It was just incredibly boring.

Then the horizon moved.

Ed rose and shaded his eyes to stare at the sight. A row of some kind of metal constructs ambled slowly forward in the distance, the first sign of life, if it could be called that, in this barren place. Even from this distance, he could see they were huge, alien things, massive "bodies" teetered atop spindly legs. If one of those happened to step on this abandoned little village...

"Impressive, huh?" Juudai popped up beside him and grinned.

"What _are_ they?"

"Dunno," Juudai said with a shrug. "The new inhabitants. Yubel thinks they might be some kind of moving towns."

Ed glanced at Juudai. "New inhabitants? They weren't here last time?"

"Nah," Juudai laughed, "last time, this place was full of these overgrown doll people, you know? That's why the houses are so small. I ended up staying a week just giving piggybacks to the whole village."

His grin slid away. "I wanted to call this dimension Despair Land back then, but now it seems too on the nose." Ed had absolutely no idea what he was talking about.

"And now they're gone," he said, because it was true.

"Yep." The mature expression on Juudai's face seemed out of place. Or maybe it just still pained Ed to see a face like that on the overgrown kid who had once up-ended his life and saved Saiou where he failed. A foolish thought. Ed knew better than anyone else that nothing ever stayed the same.

"What are you doing out here, anyway?" Ed asked, brow furrowing. If Juudai had actually left Saiou alone with Yubel, he would be highly displeased.

Juudai grinned and shrugged. "I got kicked out. Saiou thought it'd make her more comfortable if there weren't so many of us around. He thought Yubel might be able to help, though."

Sigh. Of course it would be Saiou's idea. Ed frowned and kicked a stray rock, but dropped the subject without further comment.

"Was it always like this?" he asked, grabbing for something to say.

"Hmm?"

"I find it difficult to imagine dolls living in a grey, dead desert."

Juudai scratched his head. "Well, they were grey too, so they fit in pretty well. This wasn't a desert, though... There was a lot more grass. And animals."

"Something must have happened.," Ed said, frowning. "Everything living doesn't just suddenly up and die."

Juudai shrugged, eyes slightly distant. "You'd be surprised."

Ed smiled thinly. "I'm sure. You constantly surprise me, Juudai."

Juudai blinked at him, and his comically confused expression broke the veneer of serious maturity so suddenly and instantly that Ed couldn't help but laugh.

* * *

"It's not precisely talking," Saiou said, leaning back against the crumbled wall. He wasn't going to ask how Juudai acquired hot cocoa out here, but the cup warmed his fingers pleasantly, and he didn't have the heart to mention that sugar put him right to sleep.

Juudai turned to him eagerly, neatly knocking his own mug over. Saiou chose not to comment on the scaly hand that expertly caught the mug before it got overturned.

"Well, what did she not-precisely-say?"

"It's still vague. She's afraid." Saiou looked up at the crumbled ceiling. "I think something happened here that she can't forget."

"This is natural decay, not destruction," Yubel muttered, not even breaking her gaze away from Juudai.

Saiou nodded. "I need more time to get a fuller picture. She doesn't trust me yet." He avoided Ed's eyes, reluctant to face the admonition he was sure he would find there.

But when Juudai brought Yubel out to set up their tents (at least he _hoped_ there was more than one), and Ed stayed demonstratively put, he knew he couldn't put it off any longer.

Maybe if he preempted him, this wouldn't turn into a fight. "You're angry."

"I'm not angry," Ed said calmly, every line of his body contradicting his words.

"You're angry because I want to help this child."

Ed sighed and closed his eyes. "I just don't understand why it has to be _you_."

"Because I want to." Saiou's gaze drifted to the shell inside the side 'room', visible through the crumbled remnants of the wall. "Because she's alone, and sad, and confused."

Like me, he didn't need to say.

Ed looked pleading. "Saiou, the longer we stay here, the more can go wrong. This isn't like the world we know. You don't know..." He trailed off, mouth a bitter line that made Saiou's heart ache.

"I'm as alien in the world we know as I am in this one, Ed," he said quietly.

Ed paled and reached for his hands, clutching them with something like desperation. Saiou felt sorry for being the cause of the pain in Ed's eyes. Maybe someday he'd learn not to hurt him, but it seemed that time was yet to come.

"You're not an alien, and to hell with anyone who says otherwise," Ed said with a forced calmness. "You're a human being. And you have no obligation to some... world-eating _creature_!"

Ed's skin felt warm against his, radiating both the heat of his convictions and the stabs of his anguish. No matter how many years passed, Saiou never stopped marveling at the strength of the feelings _he_ could inspire in Ed. That he, despised outcast among humans, should deserve such love was unfathomable. That it should continue to bloom even under the duress of Saiou's sadly lacking social competence, amazing. Even now, he didn't know how to explain to Ed that there was no need to be sad for him.

 _I'm not depressed. Truly. I merely know what I am. Please, don't pity me. Not_ you. _I don't want you to see me as a victim._

He looked down at their intertwined hands and tried for something like a smile. "I'm not suggesting that we stay forever. All I mean to say is... I have more in common with this child than with most of our fellow humans. We're the same. I feel that I have an obligation to help her." He hesitated, then slowly raised his gaze to meet Ed's. "She never had someone to save her, as I did."

Ed ducked his head, expression uncomfortable. "So you want to repay Juudai?"

"Not just him," Saiou said, shaking his head. He squeezed Ed's hands, wishing he could _make_ him believe him. He could be so self-deprecating sometimes. "You've been saving me since we first met. Even _that_ time..." He hesitated. Even now, he was loath to think back to those terrible times, when he was trapped in his own weakness "If you hadn't reached out to me, I would have had no reason to stay. Truly, I was tempted to allow myself to die with the Light when Juudai defeated me."

"Don't say that, Saiou," Ed frowned, a pang of worry snaking up Saiou's arms. However, he seemed remarkably cheered, the delicate strands of his affection already enveloping and overpowering the momentary spikes of distress in the tapestry of his emotions.

Ed sighed and gently tugged his hands free, only to grab one of Saiou's. He slowly brought it up to his face and rested his cheek against it, gazing up at Saiou. A slight smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

"So she's a kid?" he asked thoughtfully.

Saiou nodded softly, and caressed Ed's cheek with his thumb, just once. "That's the distinct impression I get."

"I guess we have no choice, then," Ed said with a deliberately casual shrug. "We can't leave a kid all alone out here."

Saiou smiled in relief. As always, Ed understood him perfectly. His fingers brushed along Ed's cheek for a moment, before he straightened reluctantly.

"Would you like to greet her?"

Ed blinked. "What do you mean by greet?"

Saiou smiled and took his arm lightly, guiding him through the half-ruined doorway of the room occupied by the shell.

It sat unmoving in the corner, though Saiou could sense that she had noticed them. She was curious. Good. He let go of Ed and approached the shell, slowly reaching out to touch it. He heard Ed gasp in alarm, and held up a warding arm to keep him from rushing up. He could feel the child reaching curiously into his mind, skimming the surface. She couldn't reach far, but it was enough to produce at least _some_ form of communication, and much more accurately than the sometimes fuzzy information that Saiou's own empathy could have produced on its own. He concentrated, trying to make it easier for her to read his intentions, and after a few moments, her gentle probing retreated, leaving a trace of acceptance. An invitation, then.

He turned back to Ed, but left his hand splayed on the shell. "Come, Ed. It's quite safe to touch."

Ed looked dubious. "Are you sure this is a good idea? It's not as if I can do much to help with... her."

"On the contrary, I believe you _can_ help," Saiou said quietly. He frowned thoughtfully. "She seems to think that having people around her is beneficial, somehow."

When Ed still made no move to touch the shell, Saiou reached for his hand and smiled reassuringly. He appreciated that Ed was at least resisting the impulse to run away.

With a sigh, Ed reluctantly allowed his hand to be guided to the surface of the shell, though he winced when his skin came in contact with the smooth texture. Saiou kept his hand over Ed's until he seemed to accept that the shell wasn't going to come alive and devour him.

Ed gave him an uncertain side glance. "What am I supposed to do?"

Saiou spread his arms in a shrug. "As long as you don't startle her it should be fine."

"I don't think I like that 'should'," Ed said dryly, eyeing the shell with suspicion.

But after a moment, he began to pet it with slow movements, albeit with the look of someone petting a cat that might scratch him at any moment. His face was very serious.

Saiou had to turn his face away to hide his smile. Ed was doing his best, so it wouldn't do to hurt his feelings by embarrassing him now.

* * *

"Saiou?" Ed's hesitant voice floated down from the doorway to where Saiou was kneeling by the egg. He gave a tight nod of acknowledgment, but didn't turn to look at Ed. He wasn't surprised when Ed crouched next to him.

He glanced at Ed, and Ed met his eyes, eyebrow raised.

"Is she talking?"

"It's not talking," Saiou corrected him automatically.

Ed waved a dismissive hand. "You know what I mean."

"Yes, but I would rather not spread the idea that I'm telepathic." He had enough problems without people thinking he had access to their darkest secrets.

Ed's worried eyes on him made him feel bad for saying anything. "I do have some clues," he hurried on to smooth over the moment. "I believe she was one of the 'doll people' Juudai met here."

"He said there were many of them living here," Ed said, gaze drifting to the egg. "Why is she the only one left?"

"She was... special. The other inhabitants disliked her for it." Saiou hoped he managed to sound impartial.

"They didn't lock her inside this thing, did they!?" Ed's indignation warmed him.

"No, she did it to herself. I'm still not sure what happened in the moment she.. became like this." Saiou shook his head. "I feel that it's significant, but it pains her to think of it."

Ed frowned, but nodded. "But you're making progress."

"After a fashion." Saiou patted the shell lightly. "I can't do much if she doesn't willingly tell me."

"She will," Ed said, with an unwavering confidence that made Saiou smile. Ed's belief in him was touching, but surely more rooted in affection than in any skill Saiou had demonstrated.

"She seems willing to talk to me, at least," he said, then glanced at Ed. "Why don't you try?"

"Me?" Ed said uncertainly. "How could I?"

Saiou smiled lightly. Ed lacked confidence in the strangest things. "She wants companionship. Even if she can't communicate with you, I think she would enjoy the attention."

Ed looked up the egg, making no effort to disguise his dubious expression, but shrugged. "If you say so."

Before he could react, Saiou took his hand and brought it up to the shell, letting both their hands rest against the surface, slightly intertwined. "She'll know you're here if you touch the container."

"Alright, alright," Ed said, but he was smiling. "Do you hear what I have to put up with? It's like he knows I can't tell him no."

"Ed!" Saiou protested, fighting a creeping blush.

Ed glanced at him, transparently innocent. "You're right, you probably do know. I can't keep any secrets from you, can I?"

To make it worse, he could feel a soft glow of amusement, like a giggle, radiating from the container.

"If you two are just going to mock me, perhaps you'd like to be left alone," he said and tried to sound stern.

"Don't get so peeved," Ed said, grin flippant.

" _Peeved_? I--" Abruptly, Saiou felt his voice catch in his throat when Ed took his hand, then slowly brought it up to his face and pressed his lips lightly against Saiou's fingers.

He must have begun to blush, because as Ed glanced up at him and grinned, Saiou could feel that he was pleased with himself. He was still a little dumbstruck when Ed stood up and dusted his slacks off, before setting a hand on the shell.

"I guess I'll be checking in from time to time. Try to be nice to him, alright?" he said, before taking his leave before Saiou could begin to protest.

Saiou sighed slightly. Ed teasing him was better than the moments when he seemed to regard Saiou with an awe nearing worship, but this was a little much.

The child giggled in his head.

* * *

Ed was beginning to think the other three were conspiring against him. As if by magic, the moment he had agreed to support Saiou in this quest to help the egg kid, Juudai and Yubel apparently decided that their job was to explore the village surroundings and keep guard. He had seen very little of them in the last few days.

Thus, he had been left to play secondary caretaker to the creature.

Of course, he had promised Saiou. That was the only reason he had gone along with the whole thing, and it was the only reason he was now gently petting the egg while everyone else was off doing god knew what. Knowing Juudai, it probably involved naps.

But it was undeniable that the egg was alive. Even he could hear the breathing now. Every now and then he could swear he felt a faint pulse run through it.

Ridiculous.

...Was what he would normally think of the whole thing, but he had promised, and he had made a conscious effort to put sanity aside for the moment.

So fine. The egg was alive, and he was playing parent to it. He could do that. For now.

And it wasn't as if he didn't want kids at some point. He had just expected his future daughter to be somewhat more human. And he _definitely_ didn't expect to share parenthood with Juudai and his monster wife.

When this was all over, maybe it was time he had a long discussion with Saiou about their future. It really wasn't very considerate of him to decide to adopt a kid all on his own.

And if it was too late? If this egg hatched and they really were stuck with some kind of alien child without a living relative in the world? They'd bring her home, of course. Juudai and Yubel were _not_ parent material, and he didn't quite trust Yubel to be able to tell the difference between a child and a food source (to be honest, he wasn't entirely sure Juudai always could, either).

Saiou would have to stay home with the child, of course. Mizuchi would help. Ed had his career to think about, and between DD's fortune and his own, he could easily support all of them without Saiou needing to work another day in his life. It was what he had essentially been doing since they were children, anyway.

Really, being able to financially support Saiou had been an unspoken goal for him since he first became a pro. Saiou wasn't made to be a cog in society's money machine. He was meant for so much more. Ed fully intended to provide him with the freedom to ignore society and walk his own path for as long as he lived. One more mouth to feed... Why not. He could handle it.

Instantly, his thoughts were tugged back to reality. Something had changed. He looked up at the egg. Was it just him, or was the egg... warm? He frowned uncertainly. He could hear nothing nearby that would prompt a reaction from the egg. Was it fooling around with temperature for the hell of it? It wasn't as if it could be responding to his _thoughts_. Right?

"Don't tell me you're a mind reader, too." On cue, a warm pulse pressed against his hand. He shook his head. This was Saiou's area. He was no good with this supernatural crap.

At least it seemed to be a friendly reaction. Nothing like what happened the first time Saiou touched it, though he tried not to think about that while touching the egg. It was nice to know that he still had a good hand with kids. And it was a little endearing, getting a spontaneous show of affection like this. Almost cute.

"I guess you're not so bad," he muttered, smiling in spite of himself. "Don't worry. I'm not going anywhere."

The responding heat was as gentle as the small hands of the kids who fought for his attention whenever he dropped by the orphanage, and it felt entirely right against his palm.


	4. Chapter 4

It was an astounding change. He had noticed the black tendrils reacting even on the first day, hesitating when he first reached out to the child, but now, they were truly retreating. He was sure it wasn't _his_ accomplishment, at least not most of it. He could offer the sympathy of a fellow outcast, and his gentle probing had made the tendrils stir restlessly, even shrink back. But the real change happened when Ed took an interest in her. He seemed to be able to satisfy the child's craving for companionship far better than Saiou could, and under his determined attentions, the tendrils were rapidly vanishing.

Her emotional spectrum had shifted, as well. The heavy air of loneliness seemed to lighten day by day, thinned by streaks of true pleasure and cheer, particularly when Ed spoke to her.

That was only natural. Ed had a way with people that Saiou would never be able to replicate, and children had always adored him. It might have made him jealous, but for how proud and pleased he was by Ed's interest in the child. It had been heartbreaking to have Ed cross with him, but now he seemed truly delighted to be here, to simply sit with the shell, or with Saiou, or both.

In that sense, this was quite nearly a vacation - they could rarely have much time together like this before Ed needed to take a flight off to some distant match, but now they had been here for almost a week, a week spent in near constant company. Saiou supposed Ed's sponsors would be wanting to have words with him after this little excursion, but for now, everything was harmonious. Close to perfect.

And yet, Saiou felt uneasy. The more unwilling the child seemed to share the story of how she came to be like this, the more certain Saiou became that it was important. Perhaps not to their immediate goal of stopping the tendrils, but truly, Saiou had never considered that his main goal. From the very beginning, he had been most interested in helping the child.

Today, she seemed unusually restless, even moody. Unwilling to communicate with him at all, but the subject of her past life seemed especially upsetting, even frightening. And she had grown more agitated by the hour.

He leaned his head against the shell, opening his mind and forming the question once more. As usual, her reaction was a subdued, almost embarrassed silence. He tried again, trying to transmit his feelings of urgency and worry. She seemed to react, but was still being mutely reticent.

So he pried the gate to his mind further open. It was an alien feeling, like trying to turn himself inside out, but he gritted his teeth and pressed his forehead against the shell, willing the child to take in all of him and trust him. _He would never harm her._

The child stirred. Her presence soaked his being, poking into every corner and crevice he had laid bare, all his terrible deeds. And she... wept.

Her sorrow cut into him like a knife, it coiled around him and threatened to suffocate him, but he steeled himself and reached for her, wrapping consolation around her like a blanket, and for a moment it seemed to him as if she _looked_ at him, physically saw him, right through the container.

And then he knew.

The cocoonization, the flash of light that consumed all life, her brothers and sisters. The change that had halted in this empty house, unable to grow without life. It was never meant to be this way. They weren't meant to die. The tendrils were never meant to exist. She was simply too powerful. She needed life to grow, but she had wrought death. She had reached out for sustenance, but the tendrils she had forged could not give her what she needed. Even burrowing into the life force that made up the very fabric of the dimension itself wasn't enough.

Until now. It wasn't _life_ that sustained her. It was thought. Emotion. She had drunk down their affection, their concern, their wonder like water in a desert, and she had begun to grow.

And she was about to shed the cocoon.

Saiou leapt to his feet, visions of that terrible light still flashing in his mind. This time...?

She didn't want them to go, so she had kept the secret. And now it was too late.

No, it couldn't be. He couldn't let it be.

_Ed_.

* * *

In Ed's opinion, Yubel's idea of cooking left a lot to be desired.

Like heat. And less fresh blood spatters in his general vicinity. He wasn't even going to ask where she found it - yet another souvenir from the long trips she and Juudai took god knew where when he and Saiou weren't looking. He had certainly never seen anything like the small, dead beast around the ruins or out on the bleak, grey plains.

And its bright green blood certainly didn't fit in here. Nor would it fit in inside his stomach, Ed suspected. That color didn't look healthy at all, and if Yubel thought that _he_ was going to cook it, she had another thing coming. She had simply appeared, unceremoniously dumped the carcass so close to him that he had had to jump out of the way to avoid bloodying his slacks, and stalked off, presumably to find Juudai.

He could hear hurried shuffling from the egg ruin, and turned to vent his irritation with Yubel to Saiou, but his expression stopped him. He was pale and wide-eyed, and there was a fresh trail of tears drying on his cheeks.

"Ed," he said faintly, then faltered. He leaned heavily against Ed when he reached to steady him.

"Saiou, what is it?"

He took a deep breath. "We need to go. Now."

"Go?" Ed asked, baffled. "Go where?"

"Away from here. We have to get away." Saiou's nails bit into Ed's arms and staring at him with such an intense hopelessness in his eyes that Ed's heart ached.

"Calm down, Saiou," he said, trying to radiate cool confidence for him, despite the uneasiness tugging at his heart. "What happened?"

Saiou stared wild-eyed at him for a long moment, then slowly looked down and released Ed's arms. He took a deep breath, calm now, though his expression still bore traces of agony.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I found out something important. She's been keeping secrets from us." He sighed. "Maybe it's already too late."

"What's too late? What do you mean?" Ed tried to stay calm, but it was unsettling, seeing Saiou like this, showing unrestrained distress and confusion.

"The container," he said slowly. "It's a cocoon. She's leaving it. Today."

Ed frowned. "Isn't that a good thing?" Maybe then they could leave. Maybe even bring her with them...

"No-- Yes-- We can't stay here," Saiou rambled, starting to return to his former state of agitation. "When it opens, everything within distance will die."

The ensuing silence was deafening.

"How far?" Ed whispered, his voice suddenly lost. "How far do we need to go?"

Saiou spread his arms, voice dull with despair. "I don't know, Ed. But look around you. There's nothing living here."

"You mean... she did this."

Ed felt numb.

Saiou dropped his head. "It must be like this for _miles_. It's already too late."

Feebly, Ed took his hands. Saiou held on to his so tightly that it would have been painful, if anything so minor had still been important in this moment.

They couldn't die here.

A crash brought him back to reality.

It was Juudai, of course, bearing a rapidly toppling tower of fruits in his arms, blue and purple spheres rolling in all directions. Yubel hovered over his shoulder, arms crossed.

"Oops, sorry about that!" he called, then stopped and tilted his head at them. "What's up? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Juudai..." Saiou said, voice still faint. "It's too late. We'll all die."

"Well, that's a problem," Juudai said and crouched to set the rest of the fruit on the ground. He was infuriatingly calm. "How long do we have?"

Saiou frowned and closed his eyes for a moment, as if straining to hear something. "Perhaps ten minutes."

Juudai looked to Yubel. "What do you think? You've been doing a lot of jumping, lately."

"I can do it," she said, but her expression was tense.

Juudai shook his head. "We have a few minutes, right?" He beckoned to Ed and Saiou. "You guys will have to loan us a boost."

Before Ed could take a single step forward, Saiou blocked him with his arm. "Ed can't. I would prefer not to teach him to bring those walls down, yet."

Juudai grinned faintly, but nodded. "Come here, anyway. It's easier for her if we're close together."

Ed tried not to feel left out and useless, standing behind Saiou as the other three held hands, or claws, in a small circle. The silence was agonizing, seconds seeming to tick in his heads, quicker and quicker. Wouldn't it be quicker if he helped? Would this really work at all? How much longer did they have?

And then, all at once, reality seemed to _shift_. Time felt stretched out, then compressed, his own body seemed to flicker and dissolve. He would have screamed if he could. Then he hit the ground.

For a long moment, Ed stayed on the ground, head resting against a cool metal surface. It felt safer that way. Then he slowly lifted his head, bracing his hands to push himself to his knees. The ground below him was coarse metal, worn and irregular, entirely unlike anything made by human hands. Looking around, they were close to the edge of the surface, but it stretched out in every other direction, far enough that he could only faintly see dark slopes that might be other edges. And beyond the edge, the world was moving.

Or rather, the giant metal beast they were standing on was moving, slowly ambling across the landscape in languid strides.

"Why," Ed choked out, "did we jump on this thing!?"

Yubel's glower seemed defensive. "Juudai wanted to ride one." Her tone was matter-of-fact, as if it was perfectly natural that she should take them all on a joyride for Juudai's benefit at a time like this.

Then again, to Yubel, it probably was.

"Look," Saiou broke in. Standing closer to the edge of the beast than Ed would have liked, he was looking into the distance at a dully glowing patch of land. Even now, as Ed moved up beside Saiou, the light was growing stronger by the second, breaking into rays of color, until a cluster of rainbows seemed to be sprouting from the dark outlines of ruins - from their egg. Ed felt a little shaky at the thought of just how close they had cut it, but he stood up and took his place by Saiou's side.

Their unwilling mount came to a stop. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Ed noted other outlines of beasts had halted as well, so distant that he only noticed them now as an absence of movement in the corner of his eye.

Within the ever-growing light, something was moving. Dark shapes, stretching outward and up, like a blooming flower. Time seemed stretched out, determined to etch every moment of this strange birth into history, or at least into the memories of the tiny creatures from another world who dared to observe this moment, forever.

Ed actually felt a sting of disappointment. The being hatching in this light was no small child - from what little he could see, she was already bigger than the little village. They would never get to bring her home to raise her. The knowledge saddened him more than he had expected. Really, he should have known that there was no way they could ever bring an otherworldly child with them home, but he had chosen to ignore that reality. And now he paid the price for his sentimentality.

But she was magnificent. Sleek, dark, simmering with power. And absolutely huge. Even as she was still growing, the beast they were standing atop seemed small and tired, a hunching old man, in comparison.

An eternity seemed to pass before the graceful dance of the machine assembling herself began to slow. The rainbow light was slowly fading, dying flickers dancing across her body. Like the other beasts, she was a solid mass with no apparent head or features, but Ed was sure he could have picked her out in a crowd of hundreds. It wasn't just that she was bigger than the rest - she was darker and more imposing, a being that demanded attention.

Or maybe he had already turned into a bragging father. A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. It was ridiculous, but maybe he could let himself be ridiculous just this once.

Even this far away, the earth seemed to tremble when her legs sprouted from her body and hit the earth, great clouds of dust welling up all around her. She rose slowly, almost uncertainly, spindly legs trembling.

With a silently finality, the dust began to settle around her towering form. All was still for one long moment.

And then Saiou collapsed. The moment he saw him stumble, Ed flung his arm out to grab him and yanked him back, hard enough to topple them into a pile on the floor, but mercifully far from the edge. If Saiou had fallen... He didn't even want to think about it. He ignored Juudai's amused looks and leaned over Saiou.

Ed blinked. Saiou was swearing quietly under his breath. He hadn't even thought Saiou _knew_ most of those words.

"Are you alright?" he asked uncertainly. Maybe he hit his head in the fall?

Saiou sighed, but he clung to Ed's arm for support. "I'm fine, Ed. She just hasn't figured out how control her volume, yet."

"So she yelled at you?" Juudai asked, crouching next to them with his head quizzically tilted.

Saiou smiled thinly, free hand pressed to his head. "She nearly blew my ear drums out. Metaphorically," he added before Juudai could open his mouth. Ed appreciated the attempt, but he doubted Juudai knew what a metaphor was.

"What did she say?" he cut in before Juudai could lead them off on a tangent.

Saiou shook his head. "Just a moment, please." He took a deep breath, and a smile flitted across his face. "She apologized. She's a quick learner." Ed glanced up at the still, silent form in the distance. Was she trying to speak to them through Saiou even now?

Saiou closed his eyes and turned his face upward to the bleak sky. The grey light made him look pale and unhealthy. Ed made a mental note to make him rest after this.

"She wants to thank us," he said after a moment. "Because of us, she's ready to continue her journey."

Juudai grinned. "Well, it was our pleasure, right?" He looked up at her form in the distance. "I'm glad I got to see this."

Saiou nodded with a smile that looked as melancholy as Ed felt. As if reading his thoughts, Saiou squeezed his hand lightly. "It's over. She doesn't need to feed, anymore. The tendrils won't come back. She's sorry for that too," he added after a moment.

"I guess that's it, then," Juudai noted. "Good job, you two!"

Ed frowned softly and looked down at Saiou in his arms. "It looks like I couldn't do much this time, either."

To his surprise, Juudai just laughed and patted Saiou's shoulder. "Good luck with him," he said. Ed felt strangely offended.

"What are you guys gonna do now?" Juudai went on. "I don't know if Yubel can take all of us back to the human dimension right away..."

Ed shuddered. "Absolutely not," he snapped, and tapped the heavy bracer that he had kept on for as long as they had been here. "They're expecting us back."

Juudai's knowing grin was still maddening, but he didn't comment as Ed and Saiou sent the command that would alert some bored technician back in the interdimensional research lab that it was time to bring them home.

Yubel, however, had no such scruples. "You'll be waiting for hours," she said, so scornfully that Ed almost suspected she was wounded that they rejected her transportation. What a strange thought.

But she was wrong. They only had to wait 45 minutes.

Even as the world was dissolving around him, Ed could see their daughter slowly ambling away, taking her first steps on some vast, unknown journey.

He was so proud.


	5. Epilogue

Saiou was sleeping on the couch, curled up like a cat, when Ed brought the tea in. He had been sleeping a lot in the last few weeks, slowly recovering the energy spent in the other world, and Ed would have made him go to the hospital, but he seemed fine in every other way. Maybe even more than fine - he seemed just a little more clear-eyed and confident than before, which made sense. Visiting other worlds changed you. It had certainly changed Ed, both times.

And if he had been in the hospital, Ed would have missed out on scenes like this. He couldn't resist brushing his fingers against one of the tufts of purple hair that curved upward atop Saiou's head. "You even have the ears," he mumbled.

"I'm not a cat," Saiou said, then opened his eyes and turned his head up to Ed.

Ed pulled his hand away and looked down at him. "I thought you were sleeping."

"I was. I can't sleep when you're thinking of me. It's distracting."

Ed smiled warmly. "I'll try to refrain."

"Is that a threat?" Saiou asked, slowly sitting up. "I never said I wanted you to stop."

"Then don't complain," Ed said and took a seat next to him. "But if you can't sleep, I suppose we'll have to think of something else."

"Mm..." Saiou hummed, wrapping his arms around Ed and nuzzling his hair. His long hair draped over him and surrounded him like walls, separating them, it seemed to Ed, from the rest of humanity. For the moment he felt as if they were utterly alone in the world.

"I thought you wanted tea."

"It can wait," Saiou mumbled against his hair.

Ed leaned against him with a smile. "Do you want to talk? Or would you rather do something else?"

"Hmm. Give me a moment to wake up and ask me again," Saiou said with a shocking lack of embarrassment. He really must be tired. Ed stifled a laugh and relaxed into Saiou's embrace. He could certainly think of worse places to be.

But the silence made his thoughts wander. There were many things left unexplained from that visit to the other world that they would likely never understand fully, but one thing in particular still picked at his mind. And Saiou knew the answer. Maybe it was time to ask.

"Saiou?"

"Hmm?" Saiou still seemed tired, but he shifted to look down at him.

"Why did you stop me, back then?" Ed asked, tilting his head back to meet his eyes. "We were going to die, and all I could do was watch. Why?"

Saiou sighed. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to risk disturbing something we couldn't take back."

"Disturbing what?" Ed frowned.

"Ed... you have a wonderful power." Saiou's expression was melancholy.

Ed blinked. "I'm just a normal person."

"You aren't. Don't you remember? Even the Light couldn't possess you."

"It couldn't to Juudai, either," Ed said, trying not to sound bitter. It still sounded petulant, even to his own ears.

"Yes. Juudai was the same. But he... he's had to open up. He's no longer untouchable. Not like you." Saiou smiled, though it seemed pained to Ed. "No matter what anyone throws at you, your mind is yours alone. I'm a little jealous."

Ed frowned, shrugging in discomfort. "It doesn't feel like much of a power. And you can still tell what I'm feeling. I don't see how that's any different than what you did with Juudai and Yubel."

"What I perceive from you is merely passive. Spillover. We all radiate our emotions to a certain degree. But what's hidden inside your mind... is locked to me." Saiou's arms around Ed tightened imperceptibly. "Opening an active exchange, as what Juudai asked us to do... It's too invasive. Once it's been opened, you may never be able to close that door again." Saiou paused, and took a shaky breath. "Until I can trust myself never to _fall_ again, I don't want to risk disturbing that lock. I can't take the chance of hurting you."

Ed watched him in silence, and wondered when their dynamic had changed so utterly that _he_ had become the protected and Saiou his protector. Maybe it had always been like that, and he just never paid attention.

Maybe that was alright. Sometimes.

He smiled slowly and snaked his arms up to wrap around Saiou's neck. "I understand," he said softly. "I'll trust your judgement."

Saiou seemed to relax against him, though his smile was a tad melancholy, and utterly transparent. Ed could almost _hear_ him mentally putting together some self-disparaging tripe about not deserving trust. Ed would clearly have to distract him from those kinds of thoughts - it was practically his duty.

He was pretty good at it by now, if he did say so himself.

"Now," he mumbled, his fingers gently tilting Saiou's neck down towards him. "What was it you were saying earlier about waking up? How about it, do you feel awake yet?"

Saiou actually blushed this time, but willingly allowed himself to be guided down to Ed. The feeling of Saiou's arms tightening around his waist sent a pleasant heat shooting up Ed's spine, making him shiver.

Their tea was left to cool on the table.


End file.
